Best HS Players in My years

[Navy2004]

I grew up in SE OK and can easily say I saw some of the greatest HS players. The teams at Fort Towson in the 70's was one of beauty. We had guys that could jump out of the gym and one the State Championship in 72. We have never one since but, I can say that we had some great players in the area. We had Royce Jefferies at Grant that was left handed and ended up at OSU. Anthony Phillips that lead Smithville to championships. Theo Stafford at Hugo that was the tallest guy I had seen at the time. In the small school era it was always great to see these types of players come out and make it to the big time schools. I remember alot more players that where good also. It makes me proud to see these type of players make it and I believe that we have one again at Fort Towson named Zach Samaha. Really don't know if he is being recruited by anyone but, have heard he one of the best shooters ever seen in SE OK. If there is anybody that can give me any more info on him or if he is being looked at please shoot me a line.

 

[Seymore Cox]

No disrespect, but there has been a few threads about this subject in the past. If anyone could find it, bump it, and merge your post, Navy, it would add to that good discussion.

 

[sooners78]

I grew up in SE OK and can easily say I saw some of the greatest HS players. The teams at Fort Towson in the 70's was one of beauty. We had guys that could jump out of the gym and one the State Championship in 72. We have never one since but, I can say that we had some great players in the area. We had Royce Jefferies at Grant that was left handed and ended up at OSU. Anthony Phillips that lead Smithville to championships. Theo Stafford at Hugo that was the tallest guy I had seen at the time. In the small school era it was always great to see these types of players come out and make it to the big time schools. I remember alot more players that where good also. It makes me proud to see these type of players make it and I believe that we have one again at Fort Towson named Zach Samaha. Really don't know if he is being recruited by anyone but, have heard he one of the best shooters ever seen in SE OK. If there is anybody that can give me any more info on him or if he is being looked at please shoot me a line.

gosh i remember a kid back in the early 70's, from fort townson and his first name was zach or zachry and was a heck of a player, would seem him play at the ada inv. tourney, looking at him you wouldnt think he could play, wonder if thats his son.

 

[TishSooner]

You must be younger than I. I played aginst Arlin Clark who graduated from Colbert in 1955. He played at Oklahoma State and still holds several of that University's records.

 

[TishSooner]

Another one I remember from the 1955 class is Jerry Shipp from Blue High School (near Durant) who later was a Captain of a U.S. Olympic Basketball team (I can't remember the year of the Olympic)

 

[playmakr]

The best player I've ever played against attended about a month of high school when he was 15, and never went back. His name was Clint Baker, cousin of Mo Baker (Mo played at OSU for a couple of years) and would just toy with everyone. (including multiple high D1 players and multiple NBA players) He was as good as anyone I've seen at any level. Seriously.

 

[sybarite]

The most unlikely, best team that I ever saw in high school was the 1956 or 1957 Rocky team. Rocky probably had forty-five kids in their high school. Yet, it had two players who were the best in the state, and among the best the state had produced. Gary Hill was about a 6-3 forward, which was more than adequate at the time. I think he led the nation in scoring when at Oklahoma City University, which was probably the best team in the state at the time. OCU was once a legitimate power.

Gary would have been enough. But, the team had a 6-4 guard, Bud Koper, who would have probably been the greatest college scorer of his era if they had had the three-point shot. He could bomb from thirty feet all day and was a great complement to the driving, jump-shooting Hill.

Both were All-Americans at OCU, major college All-Americans, first team All-Americans, and they played for a tiny little town eleven miles north of Hobart. That team beat some of the best large teams in the state, but lost in the state finals to Arcadia, I think, which was the harbinger of the quick. fullcourt pressing teams.

Incidentally, Henry Koper was a freshman on the team, and he played at OCU as well. These were three of about twenty boys in the entire school.

 

[Navy2004]

sooner78, the kid was Zach Jenkins. He had a humped back and was 6-3 leaned over and 6-6 when the coach got him to stand up straight.Clydell Tucker was the first guy I ever saw touch the square on the back board. The Fort Towson teams played a Full Court Diamond 1 press that nobody could get passed half court amazing. There where some great players in the area at the time and I wish I knew what most of them went on to become. Also there was Some Bobby Knight style coaches at about every school then and they took nothing off nobody. Wish we had more because basketball in the US would be unstoppable again.....

 

[buttermaker1]

Dang some of you are old :clap